Catholic Ragemonkey

Self-Definitions and Self-Revelations

I was over at Church of the Masses reading Barbara's review of the movie Hitch. Normally, romantic comedies are not my speed, but I might make room for this one. It was something she mentioned in this review that made me think of the following quote for myself. I don't know if I am cribbing (which means making alterations to someone else's work) or out and out stealing (which means well, ... I stole it and don't know who to credit), but here it is.

Barbara mentioned how the film's sensibilities reflected an earlier time, namely that of the 1840's. Then she followed with the question how far back might we indeed go in the movie industry. Now, many of my fellow priests accuse me, usually in jest, of being this "draconian, cro-magnon, retrograde throwback." Thrown back to what I am not entirely certain. Then this quote popped into my mind:

"I might be thrown back. But sometimes being backward looking is exactly what is needed. If you find yourself on a dead-end street, and you realize that you can't go forward for all those pesky houses and fences, there is only one solution: you must turn around and back track to the actual mistake in the directions that you made. Progress is not a dirty word in my vocabulary; it's just not the most important one. It's not even in the top ten. For myself, the first four important words (which in fact are the same word at essence) are: true, beautiful, good, and love. If that's what I am being thrown back to, then sling shot away."

Also, appropos to this post is a quote that Techmonkey Dave and I fashioned to describe me: "Oh, yes, I am a man of the '80s...the 1380s."